Luxembourg was NOT on my bucket list! It was another one of those trips that came about as a result of a Ryanair deals email. Flights were cheap, it was a new country we hadn’t been and we needed a summer vacation as we’d nothing else planned. The absolute best thing about this trip that became apparent as I was researching and booking stuff was that public transport is TOTALLY FREE for everyone, all the time! That’s not something I’ve ever seen or heard of anywhere else. It made me slightly nervous about how expensive everything might be though as only the richest countries in the world can do shit like that! So between booking a hotel right beside the airport and the free transport (bus stop to town right outside the hotel), it made the trip very chilled, inexpensive and just a joy.
Another thing that made the trip an absolute joy and made it feel like a proper summer vacation was the heatwave we experienced for pretty much the whole time we were there. That was a great unexpected bonus as Luxembourg is not known for great weather. It was hot and sweaty walking around (no we’re not getting Ubers in a country with free transport Elly!) but what a nice problem to have. Frequently stopping for cooling beers helped a lot!
We checked into the Ibis Budget hotel at the airport (they made us wait until EXACTLY 3pm to check in) and came across a very strange “family” room with barely enough room to swing a mouse or even get around the main bed to the bunk beds around the corner. The bathroom area was very exposed too with only a light frosting mid way up the shower door and a slightly see though curtain separating the whole area from the rest of the living space. The toilet was incredibly small too with barely enough room to wipe yer arse and the sink was outside it! No secrets were had! Even though we got a bit less than the main Ibis patrons in the non budget side when it came to rooms, we were allowed eat in the same main dining area and the buffet breakfast and bar were lovely although they stop serving drink way too early for us Irish.
After we settled in we took our first free public transport into town to take a look around, stopping out of the heat for a few drinks in a local cafe beside a little carnival area. After a bit more walking in the sun we were starving so we picked a Chinese (when in Rome eh!) with a spectacular, authentic interior and “very” attentive hosts! The food was lovely though. After that we took a cooler night time stroll around town and as far as the Pont Adolphe, a huge bridge spanning a very deep valley. We headed back to the main bus station (bit of a rough area with a lot of dodgy looking types hanging around and a strong smell of weed) and got a bus back to the hotel, knackered.
Day 2 and we had a little train trip booked so headed into town again. It was even warmer this day so it was hard work getting around. Our train was delayed a bit so we stopped at a bar for some of the best, cooling beers I’ve ever had! Still hot as fuck we had to head into the local church for some refuge! Then slightly inebriated, we headed off on our little historical tour around town with audio guides in English. After the trip, we accidentally came across the entrance to Luxembourg caves so we thought, yes, that’s EXACTLY what we need right now! They turned out to be awesome and another welcome cool down. We headed back to the hotel then for the Hive restaurant’s Japanese night which featured a Japanese buffet (with weird soggy sushi!), some fancy dress, Japanese music & DJ and some cool vibes. We had a few drinks too many (some of us more than others!) but it was great crack!
Our final day and I’d booked a waterpark at Les Thermes mostly for the girls to give it a bit more of a family holiday vibe instead of just a city walking break. It was a bit out of town and requiring 2 busses but again, free transport!? The sun went in briefly while we were there and there was even some rain and a rumble of thunder but it didn’t matter as we were wet anyway! It’s a class Aqua World, very modern and clean with odd aluminum clad pools rather than the usual ceramic tiles but it made everything feel cleaner and more modern. There were slides of varying scariness, a wave pool, cold pool, outdoor pool, jacuzzis and diving boards which I didn’t have the balls to try. There was also a cafe with food and beer but also weird, padded, red leather walls everywhere!? The prices for the four of us were reasonable and even included towel rental. The sun came back out when we left! We chose an Indian near the main station for our final evening meal and the food was lovely but the service very slow and poor despite it being nearly empty.
I have to mention Joanne’s ordeal going through Luxembourg security! Seems they found traces of drugs on her shoes or clothes so she got very extensively searched and the police were even called! Funny now but maybe not then for her! I’m guessing she picked up some drug traces at that dodgy main train station in town that I mentioned earlier.
All in all a lovely little trip and a real dark horse of a place. I’d highly recommend it.
